GARNET DAVID McELREE, CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER. Garnet McElree is an award-winning Creative Director and entrepreneur whose work spans product design, advertising, and innovation. He’s collaborated with global brands from The Gap to Nintendo, and even “cut his teeth” on Madison Avenue — for about two months, but hey, they still count the bite marks. From there he carried his cultural obsessions from YVR to creative capitals around the globe, after a residency at a successful agency in Saskatoon, before founding his own venture, Modern Being.

A self-described cultural archaeologist, Garnet has always believed that real culture doesn’t drip down from the top — it rises from the streets, the galleries, the subcultures, and the sideways conversations at openings where the plastic glass of wine often gets more attention than the art.

For him, AI isn’t just a tool — it’s the biggest cultural disruptor since the Renaissance. It provokes the same existential questions: What counts as art? Who gets to decide? What does this moment reflect about us? As Chief Curator for AI works of art, Garnet challenges what’s expected and sparks dialogue, bringing the most daring, surprising, and conversation-starting artists — from Saskatchewan to Sweden — into the spotlight.